OPTIMUS BATMEN

YMCA 'Bitty Basketball'

Each team selected their name.

At the first practice, the coaches gave every child their own basketball.

You should have seen the look on his face. his heart did swell.

At the last game, the coaches presented every child with a medal.

You should have seen the look on my face. my heart did swell.

Big Helper

Love how he's pinching his gums together.
She was saying, "Just one more bite baby!"

Learning, learning learning...

I unboxed my "teacher" things and made a Calendar Board. We do this little routine every morning. I hope it lasts a long time because the kids love it, and so do I. Right now it is pretty basic. But the possibilities are endless.

I've been reading books about educational methods and instruction again. Pedagogy. I like that word. Right now I'm in the classic, How Children Fail. It's fascinating to me, the study of teaching. I wonder if I will teach again. It feels like a hazy and distant possibility.

But I also remember ordering those letter magnets we are using on our board. It was my last year of teaching. I was pregnant. The idea that the baby I was carrying would actually USE them seemed like a hazy and distant possibility as well.

Today our PAT Educator (Parents As Teachers...do you use this program?) came. She had fun activities and gave all sorts of tips. But there is one I remember more than the others. She said that based on what she's seen, she thought Zach would do great in Kindergarten. But since he wasn't in preschool, maybe I could practice lining up with him. And maybe he could practice following me in a line.

I smiled. It was a good tip.

But my thoughts were swirling. My public school teacher brain said, "oh! how practical! how useful! and, how important!". And my mom brain was saying something more like, "I'm sorta glad that his first 5 years of life were spent line-less."

with love, mama spud

i love you
i love you
you're my little guy
you're my little french-y fry

i love you
i love you
more than a king's crown
you're my little hash-y brown

i love you
i love you
i love you a lot
you're my little tater tot


These are love rhymes I say over and over lately. I made them up on the spot a few months ago, and they stuck.

Also, I framed these photos and hung them in a sweet little line in the hallway that leads to my bedroom. It was one of the best decorating decisions I've ever made. Because no matter what heavy thing might be weighing on my mind, I can't walk past this row of pictures without feeling like my heart will burst with gratitude. literally. burst.

Spoooky

Halloween 2009 did not disappoint.
We attended a spooky bash with cousins.
Tattoos - face painting - colored hair - pinatas - and the now infamous brain-eating game.
It was a hit.
Have I mentioned how much fun it is to be back home?
I love that blurry picture.
3 little heads hunched together waiting for the candy bowl to appear.